“She is awake. Speak her language so she is not so afraid,” came words that she clearly understood, undistorted by the pleasant and very seductive accent. Whatever country these guys came from sure beat the Brits with the sexy accent card! Yum! she mused.
“How do you feel?” the beautiful, blond, purple-eyed god of a man asked after lifting the lid from her ‘container.’
“I can’t move anything except my head,” Skylar answered, watching as an identical man joined him. This had to be a dream! There was no way two pieces of eye candy could exist in the same dimension. “Where is this place? How did you find me? Who are you?”
“I am Tralec and this is my… brother, Troy,” the first man said with a soft smile. “Do you have a name?”
“Skylar. Skylar Dunlop.”
“That is a very unusual name. Very pretty. Like you,” the other man said. His English was more stilted, as though he struggled for words.
“Thanks. Why can’t I move? Did Paul paralyze me?” Skylar asked nervously.
He reached over to look into her eyes and study her pupils. “No, you are not paralyzed. The medication I gave you put your body into temporary suspension so that it could heal quicker. You had many serious injuries, including internal ones. What is this Paul?”
“He was my boyfriend. Well, not really a boyfriend, more of a… anyway, he left after he beat the hell out of me. How did you find me? Where are you from? Is this a hospital?”
“It is very curious, isn’t it?” Troy asked.
“She is,” Tralec corrected. “Most of her kind is very inquisitive, from what I’ve read.”
“You don’t have girls where you live?” Skylar asked.
“We do, but our females are much different. As is our culture. Are you experiencing head pain? You keep wrinkling the skin in between your eyes,” Tralec asked with concern.
“Only when I move my head around. I discovered quite accidentally that my skull is not harder than a rock.”
“The pain? It is bad?” Troy asked.
“It is making me want to puke. I get migraines, but this is far worse. Fuck! What the hell is that! What are you doing?!” she yelped as Tralec produced a long-needled syringe and filled it with a bright green fluid.
“Tending to your pain. This is Cyphlon. It will accelerate healing of your internal injuries and provide some sedation to help with your head pain. Hold still,” he advised, easily shifting her to the side on the invisible shelf of air. Skylar squealed loudly as he injected the needle into the back of her hip, squeezing firmly to stabilize it as he slowly forced the thick fluid into her flesh.
“That hurts! Oh, my God, stop!” she screamed, unable to so much as flail to escape the burning pain.
“You are hurting it! Her, I mean,” Troy said sharply as the corners of his face and the outside of his neck began to flush blue.
“At ease, brother. Put your gills down. I have no desire to cause her pain unless necessary. Her flesh is much softer than ours and requires that I z-tract the injection to keep the medication in place. That method requires turning the direction of the needle after it is inserted and can be potentially uncomfortable.”
“She’s leaking,” Troy said softly as Tralec turned the girl to her back. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she sobbed softly. He touched one and brought it to his mouth. “Is she comprised of a sodium compound?”
“No. The geologists said this planet had salt-based water sources, so I assume that the life-forms here correspond with it.”
“Life-forms? What are you,” Skylar yawned, the medication quickly activating, “talking about?”
“Shhh, nothing for you to worry about right now. Sleep, little Skylar. We will not allow anything to hurt you again. We are here to take care of you. I promise,” Tralec said gently, stroking her bruised face.
“I’ll be back,” Troy said abruptly, grabbing a torso cover from the wall.
“Where are you going? Your gills are flushing again,” Tralec asked.
“To find and dispose of this Paul. It never can be permitted to harm another female again.”
“Practice care. It would be difficult for it to harm you, but not impossible. Go to the shelter again as well and see if you can find anything else to help us learn about her. The cultures on this planet are so extensive that I do not know where to begin to focus.”
“You are going to kill… don’t let him hurt you…” Skylar muttered, fighting off sleep.
“I will be fine, little one. I am a Calipi warrior. No Terra-ling can harm me.”
“Calipi? Is that in Norway?” Skylar felt herself drifting further from reality as she began to lose the ability to keep her eyes open.
“Stop fighting the medication, child,” Tralec said softly. “Go to sleep now.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Skylar murmured in a tiny voice, snuggling her face into the cup of his hand as she regressed in her sedated condition.
“That’s a good girl. Close your eyes.”
“I’m hungry. Can I have something to eat?” Skylar asked, her vocalization becoming even more childlike.
“After you wake from your nap, darling,” Tralec responded, seeming surprisingly comfortable using the term of endearment. “Sleep now.”
“She really is very sweet, and she brings out a soft side of you. I don’t care what the council says; we are definitely keeping her,” Troy announced as though the decision had ever been up as a topic for discussion.
Tralec cleared his throat. “Go take care of what needs to be done. We need to research what they eat and provide her proper nourishment. I am not certain our canisters would be palatable for this race. I can barely swallow the contents.”
“I’ll take the shifter and see if I can slide into some of the communities and perhaps gather supplies. Should I find clothing as well?”
“Find samples if you can and we can duplicate and manufacture items for her. Do not be long. You need to rest.”
“Very well. May I… kiss her?”
Tralec nodded and stood aside while Troy leaned over to kiss Skylar’s forehead. She smiled through drooping lids and sighed. Truly, this was a wonderful dream. Except for the stabbing ache to her right buttock.
Chapter Three
Troy fought back anger as he departed the ship, forcing himself to calm his temper and not allow his gills to flare to the point of glowing. He loathed his inability to better hide his baser emotions. It was not his facial expressions that gave him away, or even his vocal tone. No, it was the involuntary flaring of the gills’ slits that were only seen when strong emotions caused his blood to reach a higher temperature. They would flush a pale blue at first and then rise to a dark, vivid indigo that, if left unchecked, would glow clear down the sides of his neck to his shoulders. Tralec was constantly on his case to learn to control his blood temperature and not be so transparent, but it was a losing battle for both of them.
He kicked a stone as he approached the metal shelter that Skylar had called home. How could anyone in the galaxy cause such damage to one of its own kind? How did this culture deal with such ingrates? Personal violence was a punishable offense on Calipi, and harming a citizen would result in ex-communication. For his people, who relied on companionship to survive, being alone was a death sentence.
He rummaged through the trailer again, gathering several silver discs that he suspected collected and held data. Rusted cans of unappetizing looking foodstuffs were dumped into his bag, as well as three thin paper items with lifelike images of the male and female of the species engaged in different sexual feats. He leafed through them briefly, feeling his tool becoming aroused. The sound of a motorized vehicle made his head turn and he exited the trailer to stand in the light of the approaching truck.
A horn sounded loudly as he stepped into its path. His gills glowed brightly as the beast inside of it began to shout obscenities in his direction. It lifted a long object and pointed it in Troy’s direction. It flashed as a deafening crack echoed through the night air. T
roy glanced at his chest where the bullet had lodged itself, plucked the offending object from him as though brushing off a fly, and glared at the terrified human male who sat anchored in the truck’s seat. With a single growl, Troy grabbed the front of the truck and carelessly lifted the front portion off the ground. The tires spun in the air as the beast inside the vehicle attempted escape by slamming down on the accelerator.
“This is for hurting my Skylar,” Troy snarled, his gills brilliant as he glared at the terrified man. With an effortless shove, Troy flung the vehicle over the mountain’s edge and into the ravine. He stayed long enough to observe the explosion and left without looking back.
The sun was rising when he returned to the ship with a bag filled with myriad items. His head was filled with thoughts of his human—how to protect her and how to claim her. Emotions that he had never experienced were surfacing, and he was uncertain how to respond to them. Or even if he should respond, for these were the types of odd feelings that his people chose not to engage in. Troy knew he would address these emotions with Tralec at a later time, but right now he was determined to first learn everything he could about his little Skylar.
“Teach me to read her language better! I wish to know everything,” he demanded as he threw the bag onto the platform.
Tralec looked up with tired eyes. “What happened?”
Troy told him about his evening and his realization that he could not be an adequate protector if he did not know about Skylar’s culture and how to help her.
Tralec’s lips drew into a small frown. “While I am thrilled about your interest in learning her culture, I am confused as to why you feel this sudden need to learn to read her manuals instead of using our translation equipment. I do not mean to offend, but it is unlike you to be interested in advancing your education.”
“I do it to honor her,” Troy snapped. “She deserves to be honored.”
Tralec smiled, seeming to realize that learning about Skylar’s needs was how Troy reconciled the deed performed against the Paul monster. Killing was difficult for Troy to handle. Even to protect and survive, it was a task that he had always looked upon with distaste.
“We will start lessons after you rest. Our patterns are off by several cycles, and we both need to sleep. We only have these two bunks. Do you wish to bed with her or shall I? You must take care not to jar her if you do,” Tralec asked.
“I am in severe conflict right now. Perhaps it is because the Solaris days are so short,” Troy yawned. “Lack of rest is affecting my mind.”
“What’s troubling you?” Tralec asked kindly. “Talk to me.”
Troy plopped in a chair. “I feel possessive over this creature I barely know. I have killed for it. I fear that I will want to touch it too much if I lay at its… her side and claim her before it is time. I am a warrior. The suddenness of these feelings is not consistent with who I am and it confuses me. Should I push them aside or do I face them? What is the right way to address them?”
“I can’t tell you what is right because I feel the same,” Tralec sighed, joining him. “This immediate sense of protection and possession goes beyond my understanding as a scientist. I have never condoned you killing anything, but I wanted to tear that beast to pieces for hurting our… Our…”
“Our baby,” Troy finished. “Is this how it felt when our species used to use their bodies to reproduce? It is undeniably primitive.”
“That is what I am trying to discover but, yes, I do believe so. I even feel a touch of envy when I think of sharing her with you,” Tralec admitted.
“Is that what it is called? Can we share her without harming our bond?” Troy asked worriedly.
“Not to worry, brother. Our bond is unbreakable. I do caution you about the cleverness of this species. She might attempt to set us against each other to gain for herself.”
“Skylar? I cannot believe her capable of that. She is as sweet as could be.”
“She’s in shock, injured, and deeply medicated. We will not see her true personality until she heals,” Tralec said wisely.
“What if she is like that Paul? Then what?”
“Then we do what we must to teach her how to behave properly. These manuals are very informative and show in detail what can be done to alter behaviors. It might take time and patience, but we will succeed.”
“I have time, but patience?” Troy twirled his finger on the table as he thought it out. “We spank her?”
“If she does not respond to instructions, yes. Only on the bottom region, though.”
“I do like that region on her,” Troy grinned. “Thank you for talking with me.”
“I am your pod-mate. Who else would want to talk to you?” Tralec grinned, earning a responding grunt. “Do you want to bunk with her then?”
“I am still thinking about it. I must change the subject. Did you figure how to preserve the foodstuffs that are not in metal containers? I do not know how long that will last outside of the refrigeration unit I, uh, borrowed them from,” Troy asked.
“Ordinarily I would scold for theft, but in this instance it was justified,” Tralec chuckled, sifting through the bag. He pulled out various pieces of fruit, bread, a roasted chicken, and vegetables and placed them in the synthesizing unit. He pressed several buttons and placed his palm on a black mirror to direct the process. The machine scanned the items and calculated the molecular makeup so it could analyze the duplicating sequence, beeping loudly upon completion.
Tralec placed the items in a stasis unit and then studied the canned items that Troy brought. Several contained various liquids as well as preserved items and could be analyzed later when they were opened. The silver discs were then scanned into the mainframe for data collection, and the thin bound papers were laid open upon the table to reveal various poses of the species practicing sexual activities.
“Manuals with images are even better than the worded ones, yes?” Troy asked, pleased that he had found such treasures. “They make my tool awaken.”
“These are very… detailed,” Tralec said, thumbing through the pages. “And yes, they also have that effect on me. How strange… I have not had this response before. Have you?”
“No. Not even with our biodrone. I am going to enjoy studying this little human with you,” Troy said with seriousness.
“We must proceed slowly and gently. I was reading her manuals, and that term she applied to me is noted to be one of affection and submission.”
“What was it? Daddy? What does it mean?”
“It depends on the culture. A mature human uses it to show her respect to her protector and the dynamics exchanged. She can also use other names such as,” he referred to his notes, “Papa, Uncle, Master, and sir. There are other terms used in reference to females in the same role, such as Aunt, Mommy, Mistress, and ma’am. Some of them appear to intertwine, but others are for a specific situation. I don’t believe that pertains to us, though.”
“Papa? I like that. May I keep it?”
“Certainly. Of course, she must assign it to you. I do not feel that would be a problem. You know that you make her feel safe. She shows her teeth to you without a growl when she sees you.”
“Isn’t that called a smile? We use the same gesture.”
“Yes, but sometimes gestures do not mean the same to them as to us. For example, your gills…”
“Lay off. I can’t help it,” Troy grumped.
“I was not going to scold. I was just pointing out that your gills flush blue when you are angry or upset, but the human’s entire face will redden with both anger, pleasure, happiness, and embarrassment. They call it blushing. It will also flush with temperature fluctuations because they do not know how to alter their blood temperature in times of stress.”
“What odd creatures.”
“Fascinating and very complex little creatures. There is so much to learn about them. And everything they do has different effects and consequences. I think they may be able to teach us how to broaden our ability
to achieve bodily pleasure. They certainly enjoy being touched.”
“That is very good, because I just want to constantly pet her. I need to sleep. I’m shutting down,” Troy said suddenly as another yawn escaped him. “Do you feel it to be safe if I rest with her? I will be careful. I don’t want to injure her.”
“Of course. I’ll help you settle her after you clean up.”
Troy approached the sleeping unit nervously, pausing to stare at the bruised, naked body of the tiny dark-haired girl who remained in her drug-induced slumber. Tralec lifted the cubicle’s lid and gently pushed Skylar’s body to the far side to make room for Troy to slide next to her. The sleeping cubes were designed to fit the men snugly, giving a sense of being encapsulated in a warm, fragrant, calming womb. There was no significant room for another person, even one as tiny as Skylar, so Tralec laid the sleeping girl on top of Troy’s chest. He carefully positioned her limbs so that she would feel secure and comfortable and placed her little head to snuggle against his pod-mate’s wide, bare shoulder. A tiny smile drifted across her face.
“She seems to be at peace,” Tralec smiled, slipping a thin blanket over the two of them.
“She is so warm! And very soft,” Troy said, gently wrapping his arm around her back and stroking the flesh along her spine.
“Enjoy her. Rest well,” Tralec said, closing the cubicle’s lid and watching as it filled with the moist, aromatic gas that provided a deep, restorative sleep.
“You, too, brother. Thanks.”
Troy pulled the warm body to his chest and ran his lips along the top of her head. She felt so natural in his long arms and fit so beautifully resting on top of him like he was a living mattress. Skylar mumbled something in her sleep and kissed his chest before turning her head to rest her other cheek upon him. He could feel the pounding of his heart touching hers. They seemed to be synchronized.
“Papa Troy will take care of his little girl,” he said quietly. “You have a daddy and a papa to watch out for you now, and we will keep you safe, warm, and happy.”
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